Antiferromagnetism in Fe-doped PrRh2Si2: a Mössbauer study

Abstract

PrRh2Si2 is highly anisotropic Ising-type antiferromagnetic system. The ordering temperature (TN~ 68 K) of PrRh2Si2 is exceptionally high on the de-Gennes scale in the family of RRh2Si2 (R = rare earths). The reason for this anomalous behaviour is not clear. It is believed that the presence of uniaxial anisotropy assists in enhancing the TN. The Mössbauer study was performed on a 10% Fe-doped PrRh2Si2 sample to understand the magnetic coupling between different sites of PrRh2Si2. The Mössbauer spectra together with the magnetic susceptibility data suggest that the magnetic coupling in PrRh2Si2 is provided mainly by the RKKY interaction between Pr-moments.